Santa Monica Farmers' Market Farmers: Mike Cirone

Thirty years ago, Mike Cirone heard rumors of an abandoned apricot orchard in See Canyon, a magical gully where deep soil and plentiful rain create ideal conditions for dry-farming fruit trees. He tracked down the owner, a “cool old World War II guy,” and after a few beers, the vet gifted Cirone the orchard of seventy-five-year-old Blenheim apricot trees, an heirloom variety with a short season and renowned apricot-y flavor. Today, most of California’s Blenheim crop is dried (it’s too delicate to ship fresh), but eaten out of hand, juice dripping down your wrist, the fruit is one of June’s great pleasures. In addition to apricots, Cirone tends apples: nearly sixty varieties, like Esopus Spitzenburg, Newtown Pippin, and Mutsu, which make for great dog names and even better pies. Without irrigation, his fruit can be small and oddly shaped, but the flavor sings like Robin S. in a ’90s house song.

From “How to Do the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market (@smfms)” by Gillian Ferguson for Lucky Peach, 2016; Photo by TJ Tambellini

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